How do I unglue something that has been hot glued?

I have a picture that has items that are hot glued to a piece of wood. I need to remove the items without damaging anything else on that picture. It is not a photogragh picture but a piece of art that is about 40 years old. We have tried to just gentley remove some of the items glued without success, thinking that it might work being that old (it didn't work).So if anyone who has worked with hot glue guns could help I would greatly appreciate it. While I use alot of different mediums for crafting, I have never used hot glue guns.(I am too afraid of getting burned- I am somewhat of a clutz sometimes (:.) Thanks so very much. I can furnish more details if needed. Just let me know what exactly what you need to know. Thank so much.

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I am a little nervous suggesting this since you mention your clutz-e-ness, but I have done this myself in a similiar situation. You can buy the long razor blade refills, the kind that go in a holder that are ment to be snapped off. Wrap one end in thick tape to minimize cutting your self and slide the long end under the paper. Gently, gently saw with the razor through the glue, always focusing on tipping the blades business end down, away from what you want to protect. Go slow and take your time, changing blades as it gets dull. Second, depending on the paper you can actually heat the hole object in a low oven 275 degrees, and the glue will soften enough to remove it. Go slow and easy once again, with possible repeat visits to the oven. Most paper and wood is perfectly fine at these temperatures, as long as they are not moist. If they are moist then the worst that happens is the paper curls a bit.

I have had some success in removing hot glue by chilling it and then carefully picking it off small pick or nail. If the object the glue is attached to is very porous, it may be near impossible to remove.Put a couple of ice cubes in a baggie and press them against the glue to chill, you may need to repeat the chilling several times.